1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and particularly, to a power connection structure of a mobile terminal capable of reducing a size of the mobile terminal by minimizing a region where constituent elements for power supply are installed.
2. Description of the Background Art
A mobile terminal is a communication device which permits the voice transmission and reception with an other party anywhere while a user portably carries it along. With the development of information and communication technologies, such a mobile terminal has functions of message transmission/reception to/from an other party, Internet access and TV reception. Besides, the mobile terminal is provided with a camera to capture a still image or a moving image, and sends/receives the captured images to/from the other party. Such a mobile terminal is being increasingly widely used.
According to an exterior structure, the mobile terminal may be categorized into a bar type mobile terminal, a flip type mobile terminal, a folder type mobile terminal and a slider type mobile terminal.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view which illustrates one example of a mobile terminal, FIG. 2 is a plan view which illustrates a power connect structure of the conventional mobile terminal, FIG. 3 is a side view which illustrates the power connection structure of the conventional mobile terminal, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view which illustrates a battery constituting the mobile terminal.
As shown, the mobile terminal includes a terminal body 100 and a battery 200 detachably mounted to the terminal body 100 and supplying power to the terminal body 100.
Constituent elements including a main body 100 are provided in the terminal body 100, and a battery mounting portion 120 to which the battery 200 is mounted is provided at one side of the terminal body 100. Also, a battery locking unit (R) for fixing/releasing the battery to/from the terminal body 100 is provided at one side of the battery mounting portion 120.
The battery mounting portion 120 is formed as a recess having a size and a depth respectively corresponding to a size and a thickness of the battery 200. Also, the battery mounting portion 120 is formed in a slot type such that the battery can be slidingly inserted therein.
The battery 200 includes a cell 210 filled with electrolyte, safety circuits (not shown) for maintaining a constant and stable current when electric charge and discharge occurs inside the cell 210, a protection resin 220 for protecting the safety circuits, and terminals 230 connected to the protection circuit to supply power and transmit information to other elements. An exterior of the battery 200 commonly has a quadrangular shape with a predetermined thickness.
The battery 200 is mounted to the battery mounting portion 120 of the terminal body 100 and fixed to or released from the terminal body 100 by the locking unit (R).
The battery 200 is a secondary battery and is recharged by, for example, a charger after being used for a certain time.
A terminal assembly 130 connected to the battery terminal 230 is mounted to the terminal body 100, and the terminal assembly 130 is placed beside the battery 200. The terminal assembly 130 includes a case 131 formed as a predetermined shape and terminals 132 connected to the terminals of the battery. The terminals 132 of the terminal assembly correspond to the terminals 230 of the battery, and arranged at a regular interval.
Also, the terminal assembly 130 is connected to a main board 110 constituting the terminal body 100. The terminal assembly 130 contacts with the terminals 230 of the battery perpendicularly or horizontally.
When the battery 200 is mounted to the battery mounting portion 120 of the terminal body 100, the terminals 230 of the battery 200 are connected to the terminals 132 of the terminal assembly mounted to the terminal body 100.
The battery has four terminals 230, and the terminals 230 of the battery are arranged at one side of the battery 200 at regular intervals. The terminal assembly also has four terminals 132 corresponding to the terminals 230 of the battery, and the terminals 132 of the terminal assembly are arranged at the case 131 at regular intervals.
The battery and the terminal assembly may have three terminals 230 and three terminals 132, respectively.
The terminal body 100 is provided with a receptacle 140 used to transmit data and recharge the battery, and the receptacle 140 is placed beside the terminal assembly 130 and mounted to one end of the terminal body 100 to thereby easily connected to an external device.
The battery 200, the terminal assembly 130 and the receptacle 140 are arranged in a row along a direction of a long side of the terminal body 100.
Undescribed reference numeral 300 is a battery cover.
When the mobile terminal is used, power generated at the battery 200 is supplied to a main board 110 and other elements of the terminal body 100 through the terminals 230 of the battery and the terminals 132 of the terminal assembly. If the battery 200 is discharged, the battery 200 is detached from the terminal body 100 and recharged by a separate charger (not shown), or is recharged by a receptacle 140 without being detached from therefrom.
The battery may be recharged or information stored in the terminal body 100 is transmitted to an external device through the receptacle 140. Here, a special connector (not shown) is used.
Because a user always carries such a mobile terminal for use, it is very important to minimize the size of the mobile terminal for the purpose of the convenience of the user. Particularly, in the present circumstance that the size of the mobile terminal is increasing due to the improvement in performance and diversification of function of the mobile terminal, reducing its size while improving the performance and diversifying the function may improve convenience of the user and strengthen the competitiveness.
However, in the power connection structure of the aforedescribed mobile terminal, because the battery 200, the terminal assembly 130 and the receptacle 140 are arranged in a row in a longitudinal direction of the terminal body 100, a length of the terminal body 100 is lengthened, which increases the size of the mobile terminal.
If the terminal assembly and the receptacle 140 are respectively disposed at both sides of the battery 200, a distance between the terminal assembly 130 and the receptacle 140 becomes long, which causes problems in connecting to the main board 110.